Tesoro settles Martinez refinery pollution suit for $4 million

Updated 5:08 pm, Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Texas-based oil manufacturer Tesoro Corp. has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the company spewed smog- and ozone-producing pollutants at its refinery in Martinez.

Bay Area air quality regulators announced the deal Wednesday after an eight-year investigation found that refinery workers disposed of the plant’s byproducts in sewer and water-treatment facilities without first removing contaminants that could evaporate and pollute the atmosphere.

The emissions of butane and propane hydrocarbon were recorded at the facility from 2007 to 2014, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Local regulations require refineries to treat liquid waste so that volatile compounds are removed.

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District officials called Tesoro’s practices “unlawful and dangerous.”

Without admitting liability, the company said it has addressed the concerns of regulators.

“Tesoro takes compliance with environmental regulations seriously and strives to comply at all times,” the company said. “In all cases, Tesoro responded quickly to the cited incidents once they were identified, and has taken corrective measures to avoid their recurrence.”

The company is no longer discharging its waste illegally, according to the district.

“We require Bay Area refineries to control their emissions at every step of their process,” Jack Broadbent, the district’s executive officer, said in a statement. “Through the air district’s aggressive enforcement program, these violations were discovered and this uncontrolled release of air pollution stopped.”

Tesoro operates six refineries in the western United States and can produce up to 850,000 barrels of oil daily.